


How Far We've Come

by CountlessUntruths (KaliCephirot)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 02:45:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14991065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaliCephirot/pseuds/CountlessUntruths
Summary: If the mood was different, Keith would remind Shiro that he has surprised him before: not giving up on Keith, choosing to stay by his side and support him no matter what. But it's not that kind of conversation so Keith grins, eyes still on the stars.





	How Far We've Come

So close to reaching   
That famous happy end  
Almost believing   
This one's not pretend   
And now you're beside me   
And look how far we've come   
So far we are, so close  
"So Close" Jon McLaughlin

Up in his hiding place, the music from the party is just a distant thump that doesn't overwhelm Keith as much. His hearing has always been more accurate than most people, and while he can deal with things like fighter gets going over the speed of sound with earplugs, it simply doesn't make sense to have to use them everyday, when it's easier to simply try and avoid them, when it's not necessary.

He hears Shiro approaching him before Shiro even speaks and he smiles, not turning yet.

"Shiro, I'm fine. You could have stayed at the party a little longer." Three years after knowing each other, Keith knows that Shiro knows that when he leaves a party is not out of anyone doing something to him (most of the time) and it's simply Keith needing some space.

Shiro pauses for a moment and then he sighs, walking until he's by Keith's side and then sitting by his side, stretching his legs and feeling the sun-warmed concrete of the Garrison.

"I'm going to be able to surprise you one day, mark my words." Shiro almost sounds like he's pouting.

If the mood was different, Keith would remind Shiro that he has surprised him before: not giving up on Keith, choosing to stay by his side and support him no matter what, things as simple as remembering that Keith doesn't like to eat hot things or being lactose intolerant, remembering Keith's birthday. Since his dad died, no-one else had bothered to do so.

But it's not that kind of conversation so Keith grins, eyes still on the stars.

"You can try," He says instead, biting his lip to stop himself from giggling like a school kid when Shiro knocks his shoulder against his.

They're quite after that, but quiet with Shiro never feels wrong or heavy or bad, as it does with other people. With other people Keith is constantly expecting something bad to happen, something or someone to tell him bad news, what he didn't wrong, what he didn't accomplish. With Shiro, Keith just feels calm and certain, for once fitting inside his own skin.

He's going to miss that feeling, with Shiro gone for a year.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't get Iverson to agree, Keith." Shiro says after a beat, as if he was reading Keith's mind.

Keith's good mood vanishes with that a little, but he shrugs. "Hey. Family only at the launch site. It was a long shot."

"You _are_ family to me, Keith." Shiro says seriously and Keith can feel his eyes on his face, can guess how serious Shiro looks as he says this. Keith is glad for the darkness that hides his flushed face, dropping his eyes from the sky to his hands on his lap.

"I know," He says instead, once he has, more or less, controlled his emotions, turning to look at Shiro, trying to get the 'me, too' that's stuck on his throat but he can't. It feels too little, to try and explain what Shiro is to him. Keith could try and write a freaking War-and-Peace-length essay about what Shiro is to him and it wouldn't be enough. "At least we'll be able to talk, right?"

"As far as Jupiter, yeah," Shiro had fought for that one. Shiro, as much as an orphan as Keith, had no-one else to report to so he had wrote him as next of kin. That would get Keith the privilege of talking to Shiro once a week up until their radars and communications would simply be too far away. But this would also mean that, once the Kerberos mission was back on route to Earth, Keith would get to hear and see Shiro almost three months before he was back. So really, he's only going to not talk to Shiro for little less than six months. If he thinks of it like that, it isn't nearly as long and Keith can almost trick his stupid brain (and stupider heart) that he's not going to miss Shiro as much.

That was more than Keith would have expected to get.

Shiro looks at him and then offers his right hand to him. Keith doesn't hesitate to give his left hand to Shiro, feeling Shiro squeeze his hand in something not quite a handshake and not their good luck clasp, either. Something else.

"I hope you don't let Iverson tempt you to stay a fighter pilot. Even when he keeps waving those pretty little vipers you like under your nose." Shiro teases him.

Keith chuckles, his hand still within Shiro's hold. "I make no promises if you take too long to come back. They _are_ pretty. And fast."

Keith knows - and Shiro knows - that yes, Iverson is going to try and make sure that Keith decides against becoming an astronaut. Since Keith's last simulation score came and he knocked over Shiro's points by over ten points (and when they had him do it again, just to check, by eleven) it's been something that is constantly discussed about Keith's future with the military.

But Keith knows - and he hopes that Shiro knows, too - that even if Keith does love the idea of flying a viper (knowing that once he graduates he is going to, to complete the required flight hours for his permit and training), there is no ship on Earth that would tempt Keith enough not to follow Shiro up to space as his copilot.

Shiro grins at him and then, without letting his hand go, he moves to stand up, then giving a soft pull so Keith stands up to.

"You know how to dance?"

Keith looks at Shiro as if he had grown another head.

"When would I have ever learned?"

Shiro's grin softens and before Keith can ask about why Shiro pulls him close to him, a hand on his waist. Keith's instinct has him put his free hand against Shiro's arm, looking at Shiro as if he had three heads now. They're close enough now that there is absolutely no way that Shiro doesn't see Keith blushing.

But if Shiro does, he doesn't remark on it. He smiles at Keith, eyes soft and warm and they could offer Keith the world on a platter right then and he wouldn't move.

"Well, now seems like the perfect time to learn."

The music is distant enough that it's just a thumping sound. Keith is pretty certain that it's something fast and electronic, not something for slow dancing at all. But the stars are shining brightly above them and Shiro is so warm against him and they are just barely swaying and Keith swears he can almost, almost hear Shiro's heart beating, and that's it's own kind of music.

So he sighs, closes his eyes, and lets Shiro's heartbeat guide them through this goodbye.


End file.
